After 18 months of renting in a shared house in Streatham Hill, he was keen to get on the property ladder and have a place of his own. “Living near central London is essential to my job,” David says. “I put up with renting for a long time so that I could get to work fast, and revel in the buzz of London’s news and media scene.” But while he enjoyed the social aspect of a shared house, he eventually wanted his own space. “After totting up my savings, I started to look at whether I might be able to get on to the ladder by myself,” he adds.

When David came across L&Q’s Weavers Quarter in Barking, he was impressed with the affordability of the apartments. Using shared ownership, he could buy with a lower deposit than on the open market, and his monthly payments would be manageable.

“It took me a year of searching before I came across Weavers Quarter, and I immediately knew it was the place for me,” he says. “The affordability and location were exactly what I needed, and the apartments were much larger and fitted out to a higher specification than other developments I had seen.”

David purchased a 35 per cent share in a one-bedroom apartment on the top floor. He explains: “On my initial visit to Weavers Quarter in October 2018 there were no one-beds available, but L&Q salesperson Tamika told me there would be another launch in January 2019. When she called in January with more launch information, I rushed straight to Weavers Quarter and reserved immediately.”

Four months later David moved into his apartment, part of the final phase of shared ownership homes at Weavers Quarter. A range of two-bedroom shared ownership apartments remain available at the scheme, which was built in partnership with London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. “I absolutely love my home,” David says. “I have a fantastic open-plan kitchen and living room which opens directly on to a balcony, plus a large bedroom. There’s also a sleek, stylish bathroom, and plenty of storage space which comes in very handy.”

On top of this, he has also cut his commute by 10 minutes. Weavers Quarter is only 10 minutes’ walk from Barking station , which is serviced by the C2C, District and Hammersmith & City lines, so there are lots of routes into central London.”

It wasn’t just the transport connections in Barking which drew David to the East London borough, though. “Everything I could need is on the doorstep –there’s supermarkets, clothes shops and banks all on the high street,” he says. “Match that with the affordability of Barking property and the great transport links, and you have a winning combination for first-time buyers.”

David had all the support he needed from the sales team at Weavers Quarter, who he says “helped immensely” throughout the process.

“I am so happy to have been able to get on to the property ladder in London,” David finishes. “This is a fantastic first step in my home ownership journey, and I plan to staircase to full ownership as soon as I can.”